Medicament Delivery System

ABSTRACT

A medicament delivery system for use with medicament delivery device includes a support member, a compression member spaced from the support member to define a gap therebetween, a mechanical coupling between the support member and the compression member comprising a plurality of connecting members extending between the support member and the compression member, and a biasing element connected to the compression member and configured to exert a rotational force on the compression member relative to the support member. The mechanical coupling is configured such that rotation of the compression member relative to the support member causes the compression member to be drawn towards the support member to reduce the gap therebetween.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 16/317,618, filed on Jan. 14, 2019, which is the national stageentry of International Patent Application No. PCT/EP2017/067513, filedon Jul. 12, 2017, and claims priority to Application No. EP 16305916.5,filed on Jul. 14, 2016, the disclosures of which are incorporated hereinby reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a system for delivery of a liquidmedicament, particularly for use with medical injector devices.

BACKGROUND

A variety of diseases exist that require regular treatment by injectionof a medicament. Injection devices known in the art include infusion andpatch pumps for delivering injections of medicament. Another type ofinjection device is a bolus injector device. Some biological medicamentscomprise higher viscosity injectable liquids and are to be administeredin larger volumes than traditional liquid medicaments, typically atleast 1 ml and maybe a few ml. Such high capacity bolus injectors can becalled large volume devices (LVDs). Such injection devices may be firstsupported on a suitable injection site of a patient and, once installed,injection is initiated by the patient or another person (a user).

The drug delivery process of such devices can last for several minutesor even hours, particularly in the case of large volume devices.However, for effective treatment of the medical condition, it isimportant that the device reliably and completely delivers the entiremedicament dose to the patient.

SUMMARY

In certain aspects, a medicament delivery system for use with amedicament delivery device is provided, the medicament delivery systemcomprising a support member, a compression member spaced from thesupport member to define a gap therebetween, a mechanical couplingbetween the support member and the compression member comprising aplurality of connecting members extending between the support member andthe compression member, and a biasing element connected to thecompression member and configured to exert a rotational force on thecompression member relative to the support member, wherein themechanical coupling is configured such that rotation of the compressionmember relative to the support member causes the compression member tobe drawn towards the support member to reduce the gap therebetween.

Each connecting member may be pivotally connected to the support memberand to the compression member.

Each connecting member may be pivotally connected to the support memberand the compression member by a ball and socket coupling. This mayadvantageously facilitate rotational movement of the compression memberrelative to the support member.

The connecting members may comprise inextensible rigid rods. This mayadvantageously facilitate constant translation of the compression memberrelative to the support member upon rotation of the compression member.

The biasing element may also be configured to bias the compressionmember towards the support member. This may advantageously facilitatecompression of a body between the support and compression members.

The biasing member may comprise a spiral torsion spring. This mayadvantageously facilitate rotational biasing of the compression member.

The spiral torsion spring may be conically shaped. This mayadvantageously facilitate compact and/or space-efficient packaging ofthe biasing member, such as within a medicament delivery device.

The support member and the compression member may comprise substantiallyparallel spaced plates. This may advantageously facilitate retention ofa body between the plates.

The medicament delivery system may further comprise a collapsiblemedicament reservoir disposed in the gap between the support member andthe compression member. This may advantageously facilitate containmentand delivery of a medicament.

In certain aspects, a medicament delivery device comprising a housing, amedicament delivery system as described above disposed within thehousing, and an injection needle fluidly connected to the medicamentreservoir is provided.

The medicament delivery device may include a releasable lockingmechanism configured to retain the compression member against thebiasing force of biasing element. This may advantageously facilitateholding the compression member apart from the support member until amedicament delivery process is to be initiated.

The locking mechanism may include an actuator operable to releasecompression member to move from an expanded state to a compressed stateunder the biasing force of the biasing element. This may advantageouslyfacilitate initiation of a medicament delivery process.

The medicament delivery device may further comprise a needle controlmechanism configured to move the needle between a retracted position inwhich it is disposed within the housing, and an extended position inwhich it projects from the housing. This may advantageously facilitateprevention of needle exposure until a medicament delivery process is tobe initiated.

The medicament reservoir may contain liquid medicament.

In certain aspects, a method of operating a medicament delivery systemfor use with a medicament delivery device is provided, the medicamentdelivery system comprising a support member, a compression member spacedfrom the support member to define a gap therebetween, a collapsiblemedicament reservoir disposed within said gap, a mechanical couplingbetween the support member and the compression member comprising aplurality of connecting members extending between the support member andthe compression member, and a biasing element connected to thecompression member, the method comprising the biasing member exerting arotational force on the compression member relative to the supportmember, the mechanical coupling converting rotation of the compressionmember relative to the support member to move the compression membertowards the support member to reduce the gap therebetween and collapsingthe medicament reservoir to expel liquid medicament from the medicamentreservoir.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of exampleonly, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a schematic sectional view of a medicament injection deviceof an embodiment, including a medicament delivery system of anembodiment;

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the medicament delivery system ofFIG. 1 in an expanded state, without a medicament container;

FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of the medicament delivery system ofFIG. 1 in an expanded state, including a medicament container;

FIGS. 4A and 4B respectively show a side view and a perspective view ofthe medicament delivery system of FIG. 2 in an expanded state;

FIGS. 5A and 5B respectively show a side view and a perspective view ofthe medicament delivery system of FIG. 2 in a partially compressedstate;

FIGS. 6A and 6B respectively show a side view and a perspective view ofthe medicament delivery system of FIG. 2 in a fully compressed state;and

FIG. 7 shows a schematic sectional view of a medicament injection deviceof another embodiment, including a medicament delivery system of anembodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A fluid medicament delivery device 1 for delivering fluid medicament toa patient is described below. The device 1 as shown comprises amedicament injection device, although other types of medicament deliverydevices are intended within the scope of certain aspects of theinvention. The device 1 comprises a medicament delivery system 2 fordelivering liquid medicament to the patient. The delivery system 2 maycomprise a medicament reservoir 3 for storing a quantity of medicament.The device 1 is configured to be worn against a patient's skin and todeliver the medicament by injection. The device 1 is described below inthe context of a bolus injector, but it will be appreciated that itcould alternatively be another type of Large Volume Device (LVD) orother medicament injection device.

Referring to FIG. 1, the device 1 comprises a housing 4 in which thedelivery system 2, including the medicament reservoir 3 is located,together with other components of the device 1 (not all shown). Thehousing 4 is formed from moulded plastics or another suitable material.The medicament reservoir 3 is provided as a flexible and/or collapsiblecontainer 3, which may contain a single dose of the medicament. Themedicament reservoir 3 may be replaceable to allow re-use of the device1. Alternatively, the medicament reservoir 3 may be non-replaceable inthe device 1 so that, once the medicament within the medicamentreservoir 3 has been expelled, the device 1 can no longer be used todeliver medicament and must be disposed of. This single-use nature ofthe device 1 facilitates ease of operation and improves safety byensuring that a patient cannot mistakenly install an incorrectreplacement medicament reservoir 3.

The device 1 includes an injection element for injection of themedicament from the device 1 into the patient. The injection element isexplained below in the context of a hollow injection needle 5, asillustrated in FIG. 1. However, other injection elements are envisagedwithin the scope of certain aspects of the invention, as discussedbelow, although it will be appreciated that other types of injectionelement could alternatively be used. The medicament is delivered throughthe needle 5. A proximal end (not shown) of the needle 5 is fluidlyconnected to the medicament reservoir 3. The needle 5 is thereforearranged to receive medicament from the medicament reservoir 3. Theneedle 5 comprises a distal end 6 which, during use, protrudes throughthe housing 4 of the device 1 into the body tissue of the patient.

The injection needle 5 may be controllably extendable and/or retractablethrough the exterior of the housing 4 in order to allow it to be safelystowed in the housing 4 when not in use. Such a control mechanism is notshown in FIG. 1, although is described with reference to FIG. 7 showingan alternative embodiment, hereafter. Such control mechanism may alsoinclude means to control delivery of the medicament from the medicamentreservoir 3 through the needle 5 and/or may automatically extend andretract the needle 5 during a medicament delivery program.

The housing 4 includes a contact region 7 arranged to be worn againstthe skin of the patient during use of the device 1. The contact region 7comprises a contact face of the housing 4 in the exemplary embodimentshown in FIG. 1. The contact region 7 may have geometric and tactileproperties that are selected to be comfortable when worn against theskin of the patient. The contact region 7 includes an aperture 8 throughwhich the injection needle 5 protrudes into the body tissue of thepatient during delivery of the medicament.

During use of the device 1, the contact region 7 is held against theskin of the patient by a fastener. The fastener is suitable for holdingthe contact region 7 in a stable position against the skin for asignificant period of time, such as several hours, in order to ensurethat the injection needle 5 is maintained in a fixed position relativeto the body of the patient during use of the device 1. The exemplaryfastener shown in FIG. 1 is an adhesive layer 9 for temporarily adheringthe contact region 7 to the skin of the patient. The adhesive layer 9may comprise a standard biocompatible glue, as used in common adhesivebandages. In order to protect the adhesive layer 9 from damage and toprevent it from sticking to unwanted objects prior to it being attachedto the skin of the patient, the contact region 7 of the device 1 mayinclude a protective covering (not shown) which overlies the adhesivelayer 9. The protective covering is selectively removable from thecontact region 7 in order to expose the adhesive layer 9 before use ofthe device 1, for example by peeling the covering away from the adhesivelayer 9.

The medicament delivery system 2 of the medicament injection device 1comprises a support member in the form of a support plate 10 and acompression member in the form of a compression plate 11. The supportplate 10 and compression plate 11 are substantially parallel to, andspaced from each other. The support and compression members 10, 11 arepreferably substantially rigid planar components. In the embodimentshown, the support and compression plates 10, 11 are circular andcoaxial about a common axis X-X. A gap 12 is defined between the supportplate 10 and the compression plate 11. The medicament reservoir 3 isdisposed in the gap 12 and is contacted on opposite sides by the supportplate 10 and the compression plate 11. The support member 10 is fixedrelative to the housing 4. The compression member 11 is moveablerelative to the support member 10 and to the housing 4.

A mechanical coupling connects the support plate 10 and compressionplate 11 in a manner that permits the compression plate 11 to rotaterelative to the support plate 10 about the axis X-X, and also permitsthe compression plate 11 to move towards and away from the support plate10 in the axial direction. Furthermore, the mechanical coupling isconfigured such that rotation of the compression plate 11 relative tothe support plate 10 causes the compression plate 11 to move towards andaway from the support plate 10. The mechanical coupling comprises aplurality of connecting members in the form of rigid connecting rods 13.Each connecting rod 13 is connected at one end to the support plate 10and at its other end to the compression plate 11. In the embodimentshown, the connections between the connecting rods 13 and the supportplate 10/compression plate 11 comprise ball-and-socket type joints. Eachconnecting rod 13 has a ball element 14 at each end. The support plate10 and compression plate 11 are each formed with part-spherical sockets15 configured to receive and rotatably retain the ball elements 14 ofthe connecting rods 13.

A biasing member is provided on the opposite side of the compressionmember 11 to the medicament reservoir 3. The biasing member isconfigured to at least exert a rotational force on the compressionmember 11 to urge the compression member 11 to rotate relative to thesupport member 10. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the biasing memberis in the form of a conical torsion spring 16. A first end 17 of thetorsion spring 16 is secured to the compression plate 11. A second,opposite end 18 of the torsion spring 16 is fixedly secured relative tothe housing 4. The second end 18 may be fixedly secured to the housing 4itself, or to a component or mechanism that is fixed relative to thehousing 4. The conical torsion spring 16 may also be configured to exerta force on the compression plate 11 to bias the compression plate 11towards the support plate 10, substantially in a direction of axis X-X.

The device 1 includes a locking mechanism 19 configured to engage withthe compression plate 11 and/or the torsion spring 16 to hold thesupport plate 10 in place against the force of the torsion spring 16.The locking mechanism 19 may be provided in the housing 4 and the secondend 18 of the torsion spring 16 may be secured to the locking mechanism19. The locking mechanism 19 includes a release button 20 accessiblefrom the outside of the housing 4. The release button 20 may be operableby a user to disengage the locking mechanism 19 to release thecompression plate 11/torsion spring 16 to allow the compression plate 11to move under the biasing force of the torsion spring 16.

The medicament delivery system 2 is shown in more detail in variousstages during use in FIGS. 4A to 6B. As with FIG. 2, FIGS. 4A to 6B showthe medicament delivery system 2 without the medicament reservoir 3, forease of illustration. FIGS. 4A and 4B show the medicament deliverysystem in a fully expanded state. That is, the support plate 10 and thecompression plate 11 are spaced as far apart by the maximum distancepermitted by the connecting rods 13. In such configuration, theconnecting rods 13 extend substantially perpendicular to the support andcompression plates 10, 11. Therefore, the respective spherical sockets15 in the support and compression plates 10, 11 are aligned in the axialdirection. In the fully expanded state, the gap 12 is therefore at itsmaximum size and accommodates the medicament reservoir 3 when full withmedicament. This configuration is shown in FIG. 3, with the omission ofthe torsion spring 16.

FIGS. 5A and 5B show the medicament delivery system 2 is a partiallycompressed state. Here the torsion spring 16 has been released by thelocking mechanism 19 and urges the compression plate 11 in a rotationaldirection about axis X-X relative to the support plate 10. Thecompression plate 11 is thereby caused to rotate in the direction shownby arrow ‘A’ relative to the support plate 10. This causes therespective spherical sockets 15 in the support and compression plates10, 11 to be rotationally off-set about the axis X-X. Since theconnecting rods 13 are rigid and inextensible, this causes thecompression plate 11 to be drawn towards the support plate 10, reducingthe size of the gap 12. This causes the medicament reservoir 3 to becompressed and the medicament therein to be expelled from the medicamentreservoir through the needle 5 into the patient.

FIGS. 6A and 6B show the medicament delivery system 2 in a fullycompressed state. Here, the torsion spring 16 has continued to urge thecompression plate 11 in the direction of arrow ‘A’ in a rotationaldirection about axis X-X relative to the support plate 10. Thecompression plate 11 has been further drawn towards the support plate10, further reducing the size of the gap 12. A medicament reservoir 3disposed in the gap 12 would therefore have been further compressed andthe full dose of the medicament therein would have been expelled fromthe medicament reservoir 3 through the needle 5 into the patient. Asmentioned above, the torsion spring 16 may also be configured to exert aforce on the compression plate 11 in an axial direction towards thesupport plate 10, as well as exerting a rotational force. This maybeneficially further urge the medicament delivery system into thecompressed state and so help compress the medicament reservoir 3 toexpel the medicament therein.

Operation of the medicament injection device 1 will now be described. Auser initially removes the protective covering from the adhesive layer 9and applies the device 1 at the intended injection site, with thecontact region 7 facing the patient's body. The distal end 6 of theneedle 5 pierces the patient's skin. This may be by the controlmechanism (not shown) moving the needle to an extended position, or bythe placement of the device 1 at the injection site.

The release button 20 is pressed to disengage the locking mechanism 19.This releases the torsion spring 16 and/or compression plate 11. Thetorsion spring 16 urges the compression plate 11 in a rotationaldirection about axis X-X, as shown by arrow ‘A’ in FIGS. 5B and 6B. Thecompression plate 11 rotates relative to the support plate 10 about theaxis X-X. However, since the connecting rods 13 are rigid andinextensible, the compression plate 11 is caused to also move towardsthe support plate 10 from the expanded state shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B tothe partially compressed state shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B. The size of thegap 12 thereby reduces and so the flexible medicament reservoir 3 issqueezed between the support plate 10 and the compression plate 11. Thiscauses the medicament within the medicament reservoir 3 to be expelledthrough the needle 5 into the patient's body.

The torsion spring 16 continues to rotationally urge the compressionplate 11 and cause it to rotate relative to, and move towards, thesupport plate 10. This continues through the partially compressed stateshown in FIGS. 5A and 5B until the device reaches the fully compressedstate shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B. Once in the fully compressed state, themedicament reservoir 3 is collapsed to a point by which the full dose ofmedicament has been expelled though the needle 5 into the patient'sbody. The device 1 can then be removed from the patient's body anddiscarded or saved for reuse, if it is a reusable device that can berefilled/a replacement medicament reservoir installed.

FIG. 7 shows an alternative embodiment of a medicament injection device1′, including a medicament delivery system 2. Like features in commonwith the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 retain the same reference numeralsand description thereof will not be repeated. The embodiment shown inFIG. 7 illustrates a control mechanism 21 configured to extend andretract the injection needle 5 and control a medicament injectionprocess. The control mechanism 21 may comprise a control unit 22 towhich the needle 5 is connected. The needle 5 may be connected to thecontrol unit 22 via a valve 23 to enable control of the flow ofmedicament. A conduit 24 fluidly connects an outlet of the medicamentreservoir 3 to the needle 5 via the control unit 22 and the valve 23.

The control unit 22 is mounted on a piston 25 to enable the needle 5 tomove between a retracted position and an extended position, as shown byarrow ‘B’ in FIG. 7. In the retracted position, the needle is containedwithin the housing 4. In the extended position, the needle 5 extendsthrough the hole 8 in the contact region 7. An injector spring 26 isprovided to provide additional biasing force to assist the needle 5moving to the extended position and piercing the patient's skin. Anactuator 27 is provided on the housing 4 and is connected to the controlunit 22. The actuator may comprise a button, switch or other suitablecomponent. Pressing the actuator 27 causes the control unit 22 to movethe injection needle 5 into the extended position ready for a medicamentdelivery process to be initiated by pressing the release button 20, asdescribed previously. In an alternative embodiment however, the lockingmechanism 19 may be connected to the control unit 22 (as shown by thedashed line in FIG. 7). In such an embodiment, the actuator 27 may beomitted. In such an embodiment, pressing the release button 20 wouldcause the control unit 22 to move the needle 5 into the extendedposition, and would also initiate medicament delivery by the medicamentdelivery system 2 as described previously. Flow of the medicamentthrough the needle 5 may be controlled by the control unit 22 by openingthe valve 23 once the needle 5 is fully inserted into the patient's bodytissue. It will be appreciated that in such an embodiment, the needleinjection step and the medicament delivery step would not be twoindependent steps to be performed by a user.

The control mechanism 21 may be electrically powered. For example, thepiston 25 may be electrically powered. Electrical power may also be usedto retract the injector spring 26, control unit 22 and injection needle5 back to the retracted position, thereby withdrawing the injectionneedle 5. For this purpose, the control mechanism 21 may comprise anelectrical motor (not shown) and a suitable drive mechanism (not shown)coupled to the piston 25. The electrical power may be provided by abattery (not shown) or other power source in the device 1, which may berechargeable.

The control unit 22 may comprise an electronic controller (not shown)which is configured to control operation of various elements of thedevice 1. An alternative is for the control unit to operate under thecontrol of a timing element, such as a mechanical timer. The timingelement may be a count-down timer. The elapse of a count-down period ofthe timing element may indicate that an event has occurred, such as thecompletion of an injection of a dose of medicament. The elapse of thecount-down period may cause the piston 25 to move the injection needle5, for example by withdrawing the injection needle back into the housing4 of the device 1.

Examples of alternative injection elements intended within the scope ofcertain aspects of the invention include a cannula which may besharpened to facilitate its insertion into the body tissue of thepatient. A separate needle (not shown) or trocar (not shown) may beprovided for aiding the insertion of a distal end of such a cannula intothe body tissue. The needle may be controllably extendable and/orretractable from the housing 4 of the device 1 in a similar manner tothe hollow injection needle 5 discussed above. The needle may beconfigured to pierce the skin of the patient in order to allow thecannula to move into the body tissue. The needle may, for example, bearranged to extend through the centre of the cannula. Once the skin hasbeen pierced, the device 1 may be configured to retract the needle backinto the housing before delivery of the medicament. In the case that thedevice 1 comprises a separate needle of the type described above, thedevice may comprise an actuator to facilitate the extension andretraction of the needle.

It will be appreciated that the inventive concept of the medicamentdelivery system of certain aspects of the present invention may beapplicable to LVDs. However, the invention is not intended to be limitedto this particular type of medicament delivery device and certainaspects of the present invention are intended to cover alternative typesof medicament delivery devices which include a medicament container tobe received in a medicament delivery device which may include, but arenot limited to, patch pumps and infusion pumps.

The terms “drug” or “medicament” which are used interchangeably herein,mean a pharmaceutical formulation that includes at least onepharmaceutically active compound. The term “drug delivery device” shallbe understood to encompass any type of device, system or apparatusdesigned to immediately dispense a drug to a human or non-human body(veterinary applications are clearly contemplated by the presentdisclosure). By “immediately dispense” is meant an absence of anynecessary intermediate manipulation of the drug by a user betweendischarge of the drug from the drug delivery device and administrationto the human or non-human body. Without limitation, typical examples ofdrug delivery devices may be found in injection devices, inhalers, andstomach tube feeding systems. Again without limitation, exemplaryinjection devices may include, e.g., syringes, autoinjectors, injectionpen devices and spinal injection systems.

Those of skill in the art will understand that modifications (additionsand/or removals) of various components of the substances, formulations,apparatuses, methods, systems and embodiments described herein may bemade without departing from the full scope and spirit of the presentinvention, which encompass such modifications and any and allequivalents thereof.

The terms “drug” or “medicament” are used herein to describe one or morepharmaceutically active compounds. As described below, a drug ormedicament can include at least one small or large molecule, orcombinations thereof, in various types of formulations, for thetreatment of one or more diseases. Exemplary pharmaceutically activecompounds may include small molecules; polypeptides, peptides andproteins (e.g., hormones, growth factors, antibodies, antibodyfragments, and enzymes); carbohydrates and polysaccharides; and nucleicacids, double or single stranded DNA (including naked and cDNA), RNA,antisense nucleic acids such as antisense DNA and RNA, small interferingRNA (siRNA), ribozymes, genes, and oligonucleotides. Nucleic acids maybe incorporated into molecular delivery systems such as vectors,plasmids, or liposomes. Mixtures of one or more of these drugs are alsocontemplated.

The term “drug delivery device” shall encompass any type of device orsystem configured to dispense a drug into a human or animal body.Without limitation, a drug delivery device may be an injection device(e.g., syringe, pen injector, auto injector, large-volume device, pump,perfusion system, or other device configured for intraocular,subcutaneous, intramuscular, or intravascular delivery), skin patch(e.g., osmotic, chemical, micro-needle), inhaler (e.g., nasal orpulmonary), implantable (e.g., coated stent, capsule), or feedingsystems for the gastrointestinal tract. The presently described drugsmay be particularly useful with injection devices that include a needle,e.g., a small gauge needle.

The drug or medicament may be contained in a primary package or “drugcontainer” adapted for use with a drug delivery device. The drugcontainer may be, e.g., a cartridge, syringe, reservoir, or other vesselconfigured to provide a suitable chamber for storage (e.g., short- orlong-term storage) of one or more pharmaceutically active compounds. Forexample, in some instances, the chamber may be designed to store a drugfor at least one day (e.g., 1 to at least 30 days). In some instances,the chamber may be designed to store a drug for about 1 month to about 2years. Storage may occur at room temperature (e.g., about 20° C.), orrefrigerated temperatures (e.g., from about −4° C. to about 4° C.). Insome instances, the drug container may be or may include a dual-chambercartridge configured to store two or more components of a drugformulation (e.g., a drug and a diluent, or two different types ofdrugs) separately, one in each chamber. In such instances, the twochambers of the dual-chamber cartridge may be configured to allow mixingbetween the two or more components of the drug or medicament prior toand/or during dispensing into the human or animal body. For example, thetwo chambers may be configured such that they are in fluid communicationwith each other (e.g., by way of a conduit between the two chambers) andallow mixing of the two components when desired by a user prior todispensing. Alternatively or in addition, the two chambers may beconfigured to allow mixing as the components are being dispensed intothe human or animal body.

The drug delivery devices and drugs described herein can be used for thetreatment and/or prophylaxis of many different types of disorders.Exemplary disorders include, e.g., diabetes mellitus or complicationsassociated with diabetes mellitus such as diabetic retinopathy,thromboembolism disorders such as deep vein or pulmonarythromboembolism. Further exemplary disorders are acute coronary syndrome(ACS), angina, myocardial infarction, cancer, macular degeneration,inflammation, hay fever, atherosclerosis and/or rheumatoid arthritis.Exemplary drugs for the treatment and/or prophylaxis of diabetesmellitus or complications associated with diabetes mellitus include aninsulin, e.g., human insulin, or a human insulin analogue or derivative,a glucagon-like peptide (GLP-1), GLP-1 analogues or GLP-1 receptoragonists, or an analogue or derivative thereof, a dipeptidyl peptidase-4(DPP4) inhibitor, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt or solvatethereof, or any mixture thereof. As used herein, the term “derivative”refers to any substance which is sufficiently structurally similar tothe original substance so as to have substantially similar functionalityor activity (e.g., therapeutic effectiveness).

Exemplary insulin analogues are Gly(A21), Arg(B31), Arg(B32) humaninsulin (insulin glargine); Lys(B3), Glu(B29) human insulin; Lys(B28),Pro(B29) human insulin; Asp(B28) human insulin; human insulin, whereinproline in position B28 is replaced by Asp, Lys, Leu, Val or Ala andwherein in position B29 Lys may be replaced by Pro; Ala(B26) humaninsulin; Des(B28-B30) human insulin; Des(B27) human insulin and Des(B30)human insulin.

Exemplary insulin derivatives are, for example, B29-N-myristoyl-des(B30)human insulin; B29-N-palmitoyl-des(B30) human insulin; B29-N-myristoylhuman insulin; B29-N-palmitoyl human insulin; B28-N-myristoylLysB28ProB29 human insulin; B28-N-palmitoyl-LysB28ProB29 human insulin;B30-N-myristoyl-ThrB29LysB30 human insulin; B30-N-palmitoyl-ThrB29LysB30human insulin; B29-N-(N-palmitoyl-gamma-glutamyl)-des(B30) humaninsulin; B29-N-(N-lithocholyl-gamma-glutamyl)-des(B30) human insulin;B29-N-(ω-carboxyheptadecanoyl)-des(B30) human insulin andB29-N-(ω-carboxyhepta¬decanoyl) human insulin. Exemplary GLP-1, GLP-1analogues and GLP-1 receptor agonists are, for example:Lixisenatide/AVE0010/ZP10/Lyxumia,Exenatide/Exendin-4/Byetta/Bydureon/ITCA 650/AC-2993 (a 39 amino acidpeptide which is produced by the salivary glands of the Gila monster),Liraglutide/Victoza, Semaglutide, Taspoglutide, Syncria/Albiglutide,Dulaglutide, rExendin-4, CJC-1134-PC, PB-1023, TTP-054,Langlenatide/HM-11260C, CM-3, GLP-1 Eligen, ORMD-0901, NN-9924, NN-9926,NN-9927, Nodexen, Viador-GLP-1, CVX-096, ZYOG-1, ZYD-1, GSK-2374697,DA-3091, MAR-701, MAR709, ZP-2929, ZP-3022, TT-401, BHM-034. MOD-6030,CAM-2036, DA-15864, ARI-2651, ARI-2255, Exenatide-XTEN andGlucagon-Xten.

An exemplary oligonucleotide is, for example: mipomersen/Kynamro, acholesterol-reducing antisense therapeutic for the treatment of familialhypercholesterolemia.

Exemplary DPP4 inhibitors are Vildagliptin, Sitagliptin, Denagliptin,Saxagliptin, Berberine. Exemplary hormones include hypophysis hormonesor hypothalamus hormones or regulatory active peptides and theirantagonists, such as Gonadotropine (Follitropin, Lutropin,Choriongonadotropin, Menotropin), Somatropine (Somatropin),Desmopressin, Terlipressin, Gonadorelin, Triptorelin, Leuprorelin,Buserelin, Nafarelin, and Goserelin.

Exemplary polysaccharides include a glucosaminoglycane, a hyaluronicacid, a heparin, a low molecular weight heparin or an ultra-lowmolecular weight heparin or a derivative thereof, or a sulphatedpolysaccharide, e.g. a poly-sulphated form of the above-mentionedpolysaccharides, and/or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof. Anexample of a pharmaceutically acceptable salt of a poly-sulphated lowmolecular weight heparin is enoxaparin sodium. An example of ahyaluronic acid derivative is Hylan G-F 20/Synvisc, a sodiumhyaluronate.

The term “antibody”, as used herein, refers to an immunoglobulinmolecule or an antigen-binding portion thereof. Examples ofantigen-binding portions of immunoglobulin molecules include F(ab) andF(ab′)2 fragments, which retain the ability to bind antigen. Theantibody can be polyclonal, monoclonal, recombinant, chimeric,de-immunized or humanized, fully human, non-human, (e.g., murine), orsingle chain antibody. In some embodiments, the antibody has effectorfunction and can fix complement. In some embodiments, the antibody hasreduced or no ability to bind an Fc receptor. For example, the antibodycan be an isotype or subtype, an antibody fragment or mutant, which doesnot support binding to an Fc receptor, e.g., it has a mutagenized ordeleted Fc receptor binding region.

The terms “fragment” or “antibody fragment” refer to a polypeptidederived from an antibody polypeptide molecule (e.g., an antibody heavyand/or light chain polypeptide) that does not comprise a full-lengthantibody polypeptide, but that still comprises at least a portion of afull-length antibody polypeptide that is capable of binding to anantigen. Antibody fragments can comprise a cleaved portion of a fulllength antibody polypeptide, although the term is not limited to suchcleaved fragments. Antibody fragments that are useful in certain aspectsof the present invention include, for example, Fab fragments, F(ab′)2fragments, scFv (single-chain Fv) fragments, linear antibodies,monospecific or multispecific antibody fragments such as bispecific,trispecific, and multispecific antibodies (e.g., diabodies, triabodies,tetrabodies), minibodies, chelating recombinant antibodies, tribodies orbibodies, intrabodies, nanobodies, small modular immunopharmaceuticals(SMIP), binding-domain immunoglobulin fusion proteins, camelizedantibodies, and VHH containing antibodies. Additional examples ofantigen-binding antibody fragments are known in the art.

The terms “Complementarity-determining region” or “CDR” refer to shortpolypeptide sequences within the variable region of both heavy and lightchain polypeptides that are primarily responsible for mediating specificantigen recognition. The term “framework region” refers to amino acidsequences within the variable region of both heavy and light chainpolypeptides that are not CDR sequences, and are primarily responsiblefor maintaining correct positioning of the CDR sequences to permitantigen binding. Although the framework regions themselves typically donot directly participate in antigen binding, as is known in the art,certain residues within the framework regions of certain antibodies candirectly participate in antigen binding or can affect the ability of oneor more amino acids in CDRs to interact with antigen.

Exemplary antibodies are anti PCSK-9 mAb (e.g., Alirocumab), anti IL-6mAb (e.g., Sarilumab), and anti IL-4 mAb (e.g., Dupilumab).

The compounds described herein may be used in pharmaceuticalformulations comprising (a) the compound(s) or pharmaceuticallyacceptable salts thereof, and (b) a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.The compounds may also be used in pharmaceutical formulations thatinclude one or more other active pharmaceutical ingredients or inpharmaceutical formulations in which the present compound or apharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof is the only active ingredient.Accordingly, the pharmaceutical formulations of the present disclosureencompass any formulation made by admixing a compound described hereinand a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.

Pharmaceutically acceptable salts of any drug described herein are alsocontemplated for use in drug delivery devices. Pharmaceuticallyacceptable salts are for example acid addition salts and basic salts.Acid addition salts are e.g. HCl or HBr salts. Basic salts are e.g.salts having a cation selected from an alkali or alkaline earth metal,e.g. Na+, or K+, or Ca2+, or an ammonium ion N+(R1)(R2)(R3)(R4), whereinR1 to R4 independently of each other mean: hydrogen, an optionallysubstituted C1 C6-alkyl group, an optionally substituted C2-C6-alkenylgroup, an optionally substituted C6-C10-aryl group, or an optionallysubstituted C6-C10-heteroaryl group. Further examples ofpharmaceutically acceptable salts are known to those of skill in thearts.

Pharmaceutically acceptable solvates are for example hydrates oralkanolates such as methanolates or ethanolates.

Those of skill in the art will understand that modifications (additionsand/or removals) of various components of the substances, formulations,apparatuses, methods, systems and embodiments described herein may bemade without departing from the full scope and spirit of the presentinvention, which encompass such modifications and any and allequivalents thereof.

1-15. (canceled)
 16. A medicament delivery system for use with amedicament delivery device, the medicament delivery system comprising: asupport member; a compression member spaced from the support member todefine a gap between the compression member and the support member; amechanical coupling between the support member and the compressionmember comprising a plurality of connecting members extending betweenthe support member and the compression member; and a biasing elementconnected to the compression member and configured to exert a rotationalforce on the compression member relative to the support member, whereinthe mechanical coupling is configured such that rotation of thecompression member relative to the support member causes the compressionmember to be drawn towards the support member to reduce the gap betweenthe compression member and the support member, wherein each connectingmember of the plurality of connecting members is connected to thesupport member and is connected to the compression member.
 17. Themedicament delivery system according to claim 16, wherein each of theplurality of connecting members is pivotally connected to the supportmember and to the compression member.
 18. The medicament delivery systemaccording to claim 17, wherein each of the plurality of connectingmembers is pivotally connected to the support member and the compressionmember by a ball and socket coupling.
 19. The medicament delivery systemaccording to claim 16, wherein the plurality of connecting memberscomprise inextensible rigid rods.
 20. The medicament delivery systemaccording to claim 16, wherein the biasing element is also configured tobias the compression member towards the support member.
 21. Themedicament delivery system according to claim 16, wherein the biasingelement comprises a spiral torsion spring.
 22. The medicament deliverysystem according to claim 21, wherein the spiral torsion spring isconically shaped.
 23. The medicament delivery system according to claim16, further comprising a collapsible medicament reservoir disposed inthe gap between the support member and the compression member.
 24. Themedicament delivery system according to claim 16, wherein: thecompression member comprises a plurality of sockets, the support membercomprises a plurality of sockets, and each of the plurality ofconnecting members comprises a first ball element retained within acorresponding one of the plurality of sockets of the compression memberand a second ball element retained within a corresponding one of theplurality of sockets of the support member.
 25. The medicament deliverysystem according to claim 16, wherein a planar surface of thecompression member and a planar surface of the support member define thegap, the planar surfaces of the compression member and the supportmember being perpendicular to longitudinal axes along which theplurality of connecting members extend.
 26. The medicament deliverysystem according to claim 16, wherein the support member and thecompression member comprise substantially parallel spaced plates. 27.The medicament delivery system according to claim 16, wherein a firstend of a connecting member of the plurality of connecting members isconnected to the support member and a second end of the connectingmember is connected to the compression member.
 28. The medicamentdelivery system according to claim 16, wherein each connecting member ofthe plurality of connecting members extends from the support member tothe compression member.
 29. The medicament delivery system according toclaim 16, wherein the mechanical coupling is configured to convertrotation of the compression member relative to the support member intomovement of the compression member towards the support member.
 30. Themedicament delivery system according to claim 16, wherein the biasingelement is coaxially coupled with the compression member.
 31. Amedicament delivery system for use with a medicament delivery device,the medicament delivery system comprising: a support member; acompression member spaced from the support member to define a gapbetween the compression member and the support member; a mechanicalcoupling between the support member and the compression membercomprising a plurality of connecting members extending between thesupport member and the compression member; and a biasing elementconnected to the compression member and configured to exert a rotationalforce on the compression member relative to the support member, whereinthe mechanical coupling is configured such that rotation of thecompression member relative to the support member causes the compressionmember to be drawn towards the support member to reduce the gap betweenthe compression member and the support member, wherein each connectingmember of the plurality of connecting members is movable relative to thesupport member.
 32. The medicament delivery system according to claim31, wherein each connecting member of the plurality of connectingmembers is movable relative to the support member and the compressionmember.
 33. A medicament delivery system for use with a medicamentdelivery device, the medicament delivery system comprising: a supportmember; a compression member spaced from the support member to define agap between the compression member and the support member; a mechanicalcoupling between the support member and the compression membercomprising a plurality of connecting members extending between thesupport member and the compression member; and a biasing elementconnected to the compression member and configured to exert a rotationalforce on the compression member relative to the support member, whereinthe mechanical coupling is configured such that rotation of thecompression member relative to the support member causes the compressionmember to be drawn towards the support member to reduce the gap betweenthe compression member and the support member, wherein the mechanicalcoupling is configured such that rotation of the compression memberrelative to the support member causes the compression member to be drawntowards the support member in a helical motion to reduce the gap betweenthe compression member and the support member.
 34. A medicament deliverydevice comprising: a housing, a medicament delivery system disposedwithin the housing, the medicament delivery system comprising: a supportmember; a compression member spaced from the support member to define agap between the compression member and the support member; a mechanicalcoupling between the support member and the compression membercomprising a plurality of connecting members extending between thesupport member and the compression member; and a biasing elementconnected to the compression member and configured to exert a rotationalforce on the compression member relative to the support member, whereinthe mechanical coupling is configured such that rotation of thecompression member relative to the support member causes the compressionmember to be drawn towards the support member to reduce the gap betweenthe compression member and the support member, wherein each connectingmember of the plurality of connecting members is connected to thesupport member and is connected to the compression member; a medicamentreservoir; and an injection needle fluidly connected to the medicamentreservoir.
 35. The medicament delivery device according to claim 34,comprising a releasable locking mechanism configured to retain thecompression member against the rotational force of the biasing element.36. The medicament delivery device according to claim 35, wherein thereleasable locking mechanism includes an actuator operable to releasecompression member to move from an expanded state to a compressed stateunder the rotational force of the biasing element.
 37. The medicamentdelivery device according to claim 34, further comprising a needlecontrol mechanism configured to move the injection needle between aretracted position in which the injection needle is disposed within thehousing and an extended position in which the injection needle projectsfrom the housing.
 38. The medicament delivery device according to claim34, wherein the medicament reservoir contains liquid medicament.